Urban Discord: A Bubblegum Crisis Fanfiction
by One Winged Angel1
Summary: This is the story of one man, Ashley Asakiri, and his quest for vengeance and justice.
1. Chapter One: Sympathy for the Devil

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo: 2033  
  
A BGC Fanfiction: Urban Discord  
  
by Daniel Power  
  
Prologue:  
  
(Somewhere on the coast of British Columbia)  
  
"What do you mean, escaped?" Jason Lighter, director and operator of BioCite Industries, slammed his fist down on his desk, spilling coffee and assorted books.  
  
"Well...uh...you see sir," A lone lab technician struggled to explain the company's loss and ultimately, "Sir, it wasn't my fault! I swear!"  
  
BioCite had been on the technological battlefield against Genom Corporations for the last year since they had finally recieved a long overdue grant from the comically acclaimed government at the time. One week into the production of a new technology that would surely guarantee them a postion on the global playing field with the winning score, and they had lost the first test subject!  
  
Jason listened to the over glorified excuse put to him by the technician, trying to keep his temper in check.  
  
Light reflected off of the employee's sweat soaked skin as he finished, "...and that was how it happened, sir."  
  
"I really haven't the time for this," Jason leaned forward over his desk,"just find the damnable thing and terminate it. That thing is dangerous and who knows what it could do."  
  
"Y-yes sir...right away, sir."  
  
"Oh, and before you go, I just thought that you'd work more efficiently knowing that your job is on the line."  
  
The technician left in a flurry of bows.  
  
Chapter One: Sympathy for the Devil  
  
(MegaTokyo: year 2033)  
  
Meet Ashley Asakiri, the man with that special, optimistic sparkle in his eyes and quality to his voice. You would think that any decent guy with a good natured personality could find a friend, even a date, in a place in MegaTokyo. Not a chance in hell.  
  
You see, people are scared shitless of him. The guy is, well, different. Standing at six feet and two inches, he's a regular giant compared to everyone else. His medium build only slightly lessens the effect that his height has on others. Having skin that's always been perfectly white doesn't help in the least, either. Just a simple skin condition he says. Yeah, whatever.  
  
Haunting blue eyes and shoulder length black hair the color of a winter midnight both served in making most people stay clear of him, but we know there's nothing to be afraid of...within reason.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Pulling his coat close about him, Ashley strode solemnly towards the ever prominent ADP headquarters located in central MegaTokyo.  
  
"Why's it have to be so bloody cold?" he said, fingering his bounty hunter license.  
  
:::They'd better pay in full, up front, this time.:::  
  
It had been one week since he'd gotten to Tokyo, and he'd wasted no time in applying for a bounty hunter license and had advertised his services as a mercenary right away.  
  
:::It's decent work, but the pay sucks.:::  
  
Strolling into the headquarters, Ashley immediately attracted the attention of everyone present. No problem, that was normal.  
  
"I'd like to see Leon McNicholas, please." Ashley said in a customarily pleasant tone of voice.  
  
The secretary tore her eyes away from his face, "One moment, sir."  
  
Leon came to stand next to the secretary only moments later. "Ashley, what can I do for you?"  
  
Ashley liked Leon. He was a guy who had a good head on his shoulders and he emenated good will and intent from every pore. They'd already met several time during the week to conduct "business".  
  
"Mr. Richard Kato made the wanted list yesterday and now he's sitting uncomfortably in a warehouse in the Timex City district." Ashley pulled a scrap of paper from his jacket and laid it on the front desk.  
  
Leon raised an eyebrow. "That was fast."  
  
"Yeah, well, time is money and I have neither at the moment."  
  
Pocketing the paper, Leon began to stroll away. "You'll be paid in full when we get the guy. Law enforcement officers don't like dealing with your kind, but it works all the same."  
  
"Like hell. That money pays the bills y'know! I need it quite badly, and I need it now."  
  
Leon didn't even look back, "Sorry. Later."  
  
"Maybe the guy won't be there when you get there."  
  
He stopped at that, turned and gave Ashley a disdainful look. "Fine, have it your way."  
  
Money exchanged hands and the bounty hunter was on his way out the door, followed by stares and a thunder of murmurs.  
  
As he left, Ashley spoke over his shoulder to no one in particular, "It's not mannerly to talk about someone behind their back", and he was gone.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Leon sat, legs on his desk, talking to his faithful partner Daley. The topic of discussion? Take a guess.  
  
"I've seen bounty hunters before, all the time actually, but that Ashley character is altogether different."  
  
"I know. He's been a legitimate hunter for only a week now and already he's bagged two assholes!" came Daley's response.  
  
"He seems to be a nice person- weird, but a nice guy."  
  
"Person? He's a boomer. The white skin is a dead giveaway." Daley said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Nope. A scan of him shows he's human and carrying an unknown weapon of unknown origin."  
  
Several officers, fully loaded for action, dashed passed the two.  
  
Daley slipped his gun into its holster. "He gives me the creeps."  
  
Leon rolled his eyes while reaching for his jacket. "Boomers! Who needs'em?" he said in disgust.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Ashley sneezed as he made his way across town towards Timex City and Raven's garage. The night time cold peppered him with shivers.  
  
Suddenly, on a street ahead of him, a building erupted into flames. Smoke plumed into the night sky. It was on his way to the garage, so it couldn't hurt to check it out.  
  
Rounding the corner, Ashley was met by a metallic creature of huge proportions, and little rationale it seemed. The thing was walking about, destroying everything in sight as people fled in every direction. It was a war zone.  
  
The thing picked up some poor fellows car and totalled it.  
  
:::Hope you're insured, mister.:::  
  
He quietly walked towards the monstrosity.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Target sighted," Priss ran lithely across the road, readying her knuckle bomber to commence the carnage.  
  
"What the hell?!" Priss magnified her viewscan. Some idiot was walking towards the rogue boomer!  
  
Nene, Linna, and Sylia landed their hard suits on buildings adjacent to the chaos.  
  
The Knight Sabers readied their attack, then they stopped suddenly.  
  
"There's some psycho in the way!" Priss fumed as she reached the attack area.  
  
Then the strangest thing happened.  
  
When the guy got within attacking range of the boomer, instead of tearing him apart, it just stood there, eyeing him. Once he reached the side of the boomer, Mr. anonymous calmly laid his hand on its leg, for it was twice the height of him.  
  
The boomer gave a high pitched shriek which made Priss wince. The light died from its eyes and it hit the pavement with a sickening "Crack!".  
  
Priss stood there, stone stiff, confusion and disbelief threatening to overwhelm her. She then looked up and saw that her friends were in the same state as she.  
  
Sylia scanned the stranger with her optical sensors. "Human! Impossible!"  
  
The guy shoved his hands into his pockets, began whistling a tune, and started away from the scene, apparently having not the slightest clue that he was being watched.  
  
Sylia landed right in front of the guy, effectively blocking his way. "Hold it right there! Where do you think you're going?"  
  
The man stopped, studied her a moment, then spoke. "I don't believe I've ever met a lady in battle armor before. Tell me, do all the ladies of the night dress that way here. You're never going to attract potential customers with something that has absolutely no appeal whatsoever."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
By this time the other Knight Sabers had come to stand behind the blue suit, the obvious leader of the group.  
  
Ashley sighed in contempt.  
  
The blue hard suit in front of him repeated the question. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
"Why does it matter?" He gave her a slight smile. "Very well. I'm on my way over to Raven's garage to pick up my bike. Then I'm headed home to my sleazy apartment in the slums of Tokyo to kick back, have an uneventful dinner of macaronni and cheese (TM) while I watch television, satisfied?"  
  
When neither of them moved. He reached into his jacket pocket.  
  
In an instant, a hard suit the color of purple flew at him with blinding speed, catching him in the stomach with a punch that flushed the breath out of him.  
  
Moving at the same speed, Ashley backhanded the suit in the helmet, shattering the visor. The suited woman hit the ground several feet away.  
  
No one moved.  
  
Ashley was speaking to them again, "I see we have at least three excellent judges of character", and then he tossed something at the feet of the blue one.  
  
This caused each suit to step back a few paces.  
  
"It's an EMP shock pad," Ashley indicated, "it emits a very high frequency electro-magnetic pulse which shuts down any electronic devices within a two meter radius. That's what I used on your metallic friend back there."  
  
Tentatively, the blue one picked it up and studied it for a moment.  
  
"Power gauge is low. We gotta' go!"  
  
The blue one turned and nodded to a pink one, while a green suit ran to pick up the nefarious purple one.  
  
All together they turned to address the white stranger, who wasn't there anymore. They turned and launched themselves into the night sky in unison, blackness enveloping them.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sylia studied the ground below as she flew, "That was too weird."  
  
"You're telling me!" Linna flew carrying Priss, who was out cold at the moment.  
  
The Lady633 building then came into view.  
  
:::This we'll have to look into.:::  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Nene, once your out of your suit see what you can dig up on our white friend." Sylia puzzled over their encouter, while Nene set about completing her task.  
  
:::How was he able to knock Priss, as thickheaded as she can be, flat cold with just one blow? No human could smash through a hard suit's armor. Most boomers couldn't do that!:::  
  
Several quiet, somber hours later Priss woke up with a headache that she said bordered on the fatal.  
  
:::EMP? Sure, everyone knew what it was. Electromagnetic Pulse. Its discovery was ancient. They knew how it could be used and had developed several technologies using it, but never as something to be thrown around like a toy. What would someone like him be doing with that level of technology? He doesn't look to be anything more than a common street ruffian. An EMP shock pad he had called it.:::  
  
"Sylia! I found all I could on him, but it was hard, and boy was it strange."  
  
"Thanks, Nene."  
  
"Well, I have to be going now...work tomorrow." The idea of work certainly didn't appeal to her.  
  
Sylia called out a quick "bye!" over her shoulder and brought up Nene's findings on her console.  
  
"Who are you?" Sylia said to herself as she sifted through several screens of text. Nothing.  
  
:::Nothing but a bounty hunter license request and several mercenary service advertisements.:::  
  
"Who are you?" She repeated.  
  
Turning on the television, Sylia was shocked by the picture that greeted her.  
  
"It's him!" She turned it up so she could hear without mistake.  
  
"Have you seen this man?" came the announcement, "...this man is incredibly dangerous and should be considered a top priority threat. A reward of eight million yen is being offered for the capture of Ashley Asakiri."  
  
"Eight million yen! What on earth could he have done to get a bounty that big?!" Sylia considered what she had learned.  
  
:::He's definitely dangerous. Having seen what he had done to Priss made that much clear. Ashley Asakiri, so that was his name...unusual one at that.:::  
  
(Some time later...)  
  
Sylia sat staring in thought out the glass doors of the famous Silky Doll, her owned and personally operated women's lingerie store, when movement on the outside sidewalk caught her eye. The movement hadn't alerted her, but the glimpse of an all too familiar man, at the moment, had.  
  
Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was, indeed, Ashley, making his way along the sidewalk outside the Silky Doll.  
  
:::I guess he doesn't watch the news.:::  
  
He was slouched over and staring pointedly at something he held in his hand. Just when she thought he was gone, he turned and entered the store. She put on a business-like smile with her skills of sales professionalism written all over it.  
  
He walked inside, looked around, and almost turned to leave again when he realized that he was in a women's underwear store.  
  
"What can I do for you, sir?" Sylia saw his face turn crimson.  
  
:::So the idiot has a conscience. Score one point.:::  
  
Still he said nothing.  
  
After several drawn out moments, he spoke. "No, nothing like that. I'm looking for something that I loaned to a friend, that's all. I thought it might be in here, silly really."  
  
Sylia's pulse quickened. She knew what he was talking about.  
  
Suddenly, after hearing her voice as if for the first time, he gained his composure and looked as much like a shadow as ever. All trace of the insecure, embarassed little boy was gone.  
  
"Tell me, miss, what do you think about this terrible Ashley Asakiri character? The one that has the pricey bounty on his head. The one who's so conniving and dangerous." He slowly slipped the device he'd been handling into his pocket. "He must be as bad as they say since he captures so many criminals for his own profit and destroys rogue boomers simply to lighten the load on society." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Why do you suppose he destroys boomers?" Sylia couldn't help but ask the question once she decided to play along with his little game.  
  
He then gave her a curious glare and then his features softened. His face broke into a broad grin. This took Sylia by surprise.  
  
:::What's he smiling about?:::  
  
"I knew you'd look even more stunning without that dreadful battle armor on!"  
  
Sylia's legs felt like lead. Her eyes opened wide. She couldn't move as if she were frozen to the spot, but she quickly regained her composure. "W-what in the world are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't play that game with me, my dear." He came to stand next to her. Only then did she get a good look at him and realized that the guy was huge. He towered over her, yet his body remained supple and agile looking. This probably meant that he wasn't Japanese, Chinese, or Asian of any kind. He certainly didn't portray or look the part anyway. And his skin, it was the most pale in complexion that she'd ever seen.  
  
"I do believe, miss, that you've slipped up." He patted the desk in front of him before continuing. "You're voice; it matches the one that I heard last night from a Knight Saber in blue. Don't believe me?" He flipped an audio recorder out of his pocket, Sylia's voice being reproduced perfectly through its single speaker. "Continuing on...no one but the iron ladies I met would have known about any incident that I've had with a boomer, that boomer being the only one I've ever had the chance to meet as of yet. Secondly, the EMP Shock Pad I gave the blue iron lady had a tracking device in it, and, according to my homing device," he patted his pocket, "it's right here." He slide open the top drawer of the front counter and, sure enough, there it was, right where Sylia had left it. "You already know what curiousity did to the cat, yet you took the bait anyway. You must have been asleep to let this happen."  
  
He stood, staring at the counter top, while Sylia swallowed the lump in her throat.  
  
"Did you find what you were looking for? I shouldn't think so." He placed his index finger on the license registry in front of her.  
  
:::He's good. How could have I let this happen?::: Sylia thought for a moment, searching for an excuse for her slip up, but could only come up with this man's ability as one.  
  
Sylia heard herself confessing to his accusations, though she couldn't understand why.  
  
"Well mister Asakiri, now that you know my little secret, what are you going to do?" Sylia, who was normally in control of the situation, was now completely lost.  
  
"Nothing." He had an innocent look on his face, "After my little display last night I knew you weren't going to leave me alone. I just want to be left alone, that's all. And besides, I was curious. I mean, that suit had enough hooks on it to catch any man's attention..." He coughed suddenly. "...minus the `ladies of the night joke', of course." He gave her an open, boyish grin.  
  
Without warning, he spun around, coat flying in the air, and produced two large pistols from his coat in the blink of an eye. The multiple retorts of gunfire echoed around the large shop. A wall at the far side of the store buckled as if something massive and heavy had hit it, but nothing had! Blood, bright red and flowing, covered the wall.  
  
Sylia caught her breath; a man lay on the floor hunched against the wall. Only, he hadn't been there before. In fact, the only people in the store had been herself and Ashley...or so she had thought.  
  
He wore a green suit to which all sorts of gadgets were attached. A helmet sat on his head, blook leaking out through a grisly yellow visor. A large automatic rifle lay on the ground next to him.  
  
"Dammit! The bastards found me! So, they do have brains underneath all that whatchamakallit technobabble, who knew?" Remembering himself, Ashley turned to Sylia and placed something on the desk, "For allowing me to experience your beautiful visage."  
  
He then turned to leave.  
  
"It's easy to see that you're in danger. You could stay here if you like." Why she had offered to help, she didn't know. It simply came out of its own accord.  
  
:::Sylia.::: She told herself. :::You don't even know the guy.:::  
  
He turned and gave her playful grin. "A wise man once said `If man had just one wish, the results of that one wish would bring about more trouble than we already have!' I wish I could stay, but I don't need any more trouble." He grabbed the corpse by the collar and started out of the store, dead man in tow. "Besides, where would the fun in hiding be?"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Ashley sped down a highway lit by streetlights and the occasional passing vehicle while on his most favored mode of transportation, his black sports racer. His hair and trench coat were askew and flying as they blew in midnight winds.  
  
:::The city that never sleeps...and here it is, all tuckered out and snoring soundly.:::  
  
Ashley eyed MegaTokyo through goggles via red tinted lenses.  
  
He opened up the throttle on the bike and careened down the silent strip of never ending black. He loved the speed and feel of the wheels caressing the road, even if the occasional bug in the face was a slight turn-off.  
  
Suddenly, a red sports racer sped up the highway along side of him and evened out to match his pace. The rider wore red as well and glared at him from behind a black helmet visor. She wasn't bad looking either, that much was obvious.  
  
:::It's that bastard from before!:::  
  
Priss' anger sizzled. A human and he had gotten the best of her in her hard suit! Dammit, and he was a man of all things!  
  
Ashley eyed her curiously and then smiled. "Good evening, pretty lady," he shouted.  
  
"Put your motor where your mouth is, jerk!" She shot back at him. "Show me what that excuse for a machine between your legs can do."  
  
"Please, enough with the intimacies, we've only just met." Ashley roared with laughter and whizzed on ahead of her.  
  
Priss changed gear and sailed after him. The race was on.  
  
Both riders dodged vehicles, narrowly missing traffic and giving every driver met a reason to be cautious on the highway this night.  
  
"Wuhoo!" Ashley shouted as the world flew by him in multi-colored blur.  
  
Priss smiled, but then caught herself. She was angry with him...wasn't she? Although, he seemed to be enjoying himself, so why couldn't she?  
  
Sirens then accompanied the sounds of passing cars. More distinguishable was the monotone whir of propellors as two helicoptors slipped passed the bikers.  
  
"What the...?" Priss didn't understand this. Since when did helicoptors become part of the highway patrol? There were no boomers about, because she would have known.  
  
:::Ah, the cavalry has arrived. Took them long enough.::: Thought Ashley.  
  
Despite her confusion, Priss continued along side Ashley at a constant speed.  
  
"Ashley Asakiri. Dismount your vehicle. You are under arrest and any force used will be retaliated against!" A loudspeaker on one of the helicoptors blared.  
  
Ashley looked up at on of the coptors defiantly, "Sure," he hollered, "but you gotta' catch me first!"  
  
Having said that, he sped up and began to dodge cars again in earnest, the coptors in close pursuit.  
  
:::They want my racing opponent? Ashley? Why? She had been speeding as well.:::  
  
After about five minutes of this `cat and mouse' routine, Priss saw what she knew had been coming.  
  
Ashley seemed to voice her next thoughts aloud, "Curses, a road block." He then swore against all people that used common sense in doing their job.  
  
:::What are you going to do now, Ashley?:::  
  
Priss slowed her bike to a stop at the side of the road, while Ashley soared towards a wall of weaponry, metal, and human bodies.  
  
*End Chapter One* 


	2. Chapter Two: For Each Demon, An Angel

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo: 2033  
  
A BGC Fanfic: Urban Discord  
  
by Daniel Power  
  
Chapter Two: For Each Demon, An Angel  
  
(MegaTokyo: 2033)  
  
As Ashley sped towards a veritable blockade of weaponry, slightly offset by the presence of police men, his mind raced with possibilities of escape and...  
  
:::Cops? Why the hell are the cops after me? I'd expect this sort of thing from that bastard Lightman, but law enforcement?::: No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't see how this could be happening.  
  
Priss sat, still astride her bike, and surveyed the whole scene.  
  
:::He's done for.:::  
  
Then, in accordance with what usually happens in stories of this sort, something totally unexpected took place.  
  
Rather than stopping, as one would normally do when traveling towards imminent death, Ashley didn't slow. He continued full speed into the blockade. Smoke plumed from a brief moment of destruction as debris flew into the air every which way. Flames burst out of the carnage and engulfed anything near. Through the haze of the after effect of the blast, Ashley could be seen sailing through the air. Up and over the blockade he went, landing on his feet behind the startled police officers without a scratch on him.  
  
"I'd like to stay and discuss property damage, but I really have to be going. Freedom beckons me to run, and so I'll see you fine gentlemen later." Having said that, Ashley broke into a run.  
  
Priss' eyes widened as, for the second time in the past few moments, something unexpected happened.  
  
"Run" only loosely describes Ashley's attempt at escape. He broke into a run and, when he seemed to have reached maximum speed for someone of his ability, he kept speeding up until his legs were a blur against the pavement. He shot forward at alarming speed and was gone, completely and simply. Nothing there could have caught up. The only thing really to describe it is the Road Runner from the famous cartoon.  
  
"Well, fuck me!" One of the officers gasped in disbelief. The rest of the men present simply stared at where, only moments before, their target had been.  
  
Priss adjusted her helmet on her head as she put her bike in gear. Ashley's escape certainly fit his description of punching her into unconsciousness while in her hard suit.  
  
:::No question about it. He's not human, that's easy enough to see. This is something the Knight Sabers have to handle.:::  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Go after him!? Priss, he hasn't even done anything against the law. Well, except maybe speed and resist arrest, but that doesn't make him a target for the Knight Sabers!"  
  
Priss and Sylia sat alone in a suite atop the Lady633 building.  
  
"He's going to be trouble sooner or later, so why not deal with him now?" Priss made her point as she sipped her soft drink.  
  
"We do nothing until he's proven himself a threat to the people here in Tokyo. He may turn out to be something entirely different than you expect." Sylia fingered a small box in her hands as she spoke. Opening it, she was greeted with a view of a pair of earrings, silver laced and set with diamonds. "Oh my! They're beautiful."  
  
Priss brought herself closer for further inspection. "Nice. Who gave `em to you?"  
  
"Our mystery man gave them to me earlier today."  
  
"No kidding, I saw him not that long ago evading an entire police unit. Why would he give you these, though, unless he has a thing for you."  
  
Sylia turned an off shade of red. "Nonsense. He certainly isn't mister right. He's probably a criminal."  
  
"He's probably a boomer."  
  
"He can't be. No boomer would act the way he does, showing so much emotion. Although, I guess you never can tell with Genom."  
  
"I bet your hoping he's not."  
  
"Not what?"  
  
"A criminal or boomer, of course." Priss stood to leave. "Personally, I hate the guy, but that doesn't mean you have to."  
  
"Honestly though, I think I could do better with someone who isn't wanted by the police."  
  
Priss laughed in agreement. "True. See you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
As soon as Priss was gone, Sylia sat back down on her leather couch to look through her suite's living room window at the night sky. Some hours went by until she was startled when she got a knock at her door. She looked at the clock, "Two o'clock in the morning! Who could that be at this hour?"  
  
Answering the door, Sylia almost slammed it again in shock. For who was standing in the doorway, but the man himself.  
  
Ashley greeted her in a polite, soothing voice. "Good morning Miss Stingray. Oh, it is morning isn't it? Anyway, I need to talk to you."  
  
"Mr. Asakiri!?" Sylia's mind screamed for her to refuse him the time of day, but she consented, playing along with him once again. "Oh, ah...come in, have a seat."  
  
They both went into the living room to take up seats where Sylia and Priss had been not that long before.  
  
"Nice place you have here. I'd expect nothing less from a business lady."  
  
Up close to the man once again, Sylia had the chance to get a good look at him.  
  
He had long black hair that hung loosely about his shoulders which was complemented with long bangs, cropped short in the middle for style. He wore what looked like black Genom army fatigues that were covered with a massive black trench coat. All the black he wore was rather perplexing, but there was one thing that stood out on the man. His eyes; they were blue and set high over fine cheekbones. They were the bluest she had ever seen; blue to the point they looked unreal.  
  
Sylia realized that she was staring and coughed to push aside her embarrassment.  
  
"So, what is it you'd like to talk about Mr. Asakiri?"  
  
"I'm a rather popular person all of a sudden."  
  
"Is that all you want to talk about? I have nothing to say about that."  
  
"No, I just meant that everyone I run into seems to know my name before I've given it."  
  
"Of course they would. You were on the morning news with quite a large amount on your head."  
  
If Ashley was surprised at this, he was doing a good job of hiding it.  
  
"Well, about the business at hand. I need your help."  
  
"Help? I don't understand."  
  
"I'm a hunted man, and I need some protection."  
  
"Sure you would, you're wanted by the police for something nameless, but most likely against the law." Sylia's brow furrowed in disgust. "For all I know, you should be shot dead where you stand."  
  
"I think that you'll trust me when I tell you that I've done nothing wrong. Most of what I've done to make me popular with the police is self defense." He sat back on the couch and crossed his legs in relaxation.  
  
"Trust you! Why should I?"  
  
"Oh, I think you already do. You let me into your own house for one. You let me in even though I might be as bad a person as everyone has been made to believe." He leaned forward to place emphasis on his words.  
  
"Well, you've done nothing to prove them wrong..." Sylia began.  
  
"...And nothing to prove them right." He countered. "I feel I need to tell you something. Something that I've told no one and have been running from for quite a while." He spoke slowly and quietly to make his words sound grave and important.  
  
"Maybe you're not sure where to place your trust. But I, on the other hand, am sure when I give my trust to a Knight Saber, a fighter of crime and a seeker of justice." He motioned in her direction to make it clear who he was talking about.  
  
Sylia didn't speak.  
  
Seemingly satisfied with her lack of retort, Ashley began his oration. "It's not the police that are really after me, it's a company called BioCite. This company has been fighting with Genom for years for technological supremacy. I escaped one of their labs in Canada and now they're trying to get rid of me before I botch up their plans for a new technology. A technology which is in my body, now, as we speak. BioCite sent out the bounty on my head to find me, and it seems to follow me wherever I go, casting me into bad relations with the authorities. Despite what you might believe, I'm a really important person, just not in a way that would help me keep my life. I've been running from them for four years. That's four years of my life that's gone to waste because I was the right man to be tested. That's four years I've been living in fear of being killed. That's four years of going on without knowing if my wife and two daughters are safe from that abomination of a company."  
  
Sylia let all this information sink in. It was all believable. She'd heard of cases where guinea pigs were plucked from the populace by Genom for their top secret experiments.  
  
"What is this technology that you carry?"  
  
"Sorry, that I can't tell you. Let's just say that it's important enough to kill for or to be destroyed for fear of other companies getting it. I know some of what it can do, but I've never tested its limits or possibilities." Ashley was once again back in his casual demeanor. "Um, do you suppose I could have a glass of water?"  
  
"Uh, sure."  
  
Sylia spoke to Ashley from the kitchen. "So, let me get this straight. You want the Knight Sabers to protect you so one, you won't be killed by BioCite, and two, so that no one else gets there hands on you. Am I right?"  
  
"That's pretty much it." Sylia handed him a glass and set a pitcher of water on the coffee table. "Thanks."  
  
In moments the water was gone and he was asking for another pitcher. After about another liter or so of water, Ashley was ready to leave.  
  
:::Awfully thirsty, isn't he?:::  
  
"I'm going to have to talk to my associates about it, there being no fee involved and all."  
  
"No, that's not true. I'll pay with what I have. It's probably not as much as you would like, but I do have money."  
  
Sylia seemed pleased at hearing this, but something still bothered her about the whole thing.  
  
"I don't understand, though. You've managed to get away from them for the last four years, but now you need outside help, why?" Sylia placed her hands on her hips questioningly.  
  
"Because BioCite has things just as big and nasty as Genom, and if Genom were to find out about my being here I could begin to take heat from both sides. It's simple, I need you to guard one side while I fight the other." Ashley stood and made his way for the door. "If you don't mind, I'll need your answer by tomorrow. If I'm on the news this soon, then Genom won't be far behind in looking for me."  
  
"All right then, tomorrow."  
  
"Great, meet me at Raven's garage in Timex City at two o'clock in the afternoon. I'll be picking up a bike from Dr. Raven."  
  
He walked out the door and turned back to face Sylia. "Oh, and wear those lovely suits of yours that accent all your good looks. They add character and you may need them where I'm concerned. And see what you can do about Miss Purple, I think she wants to beat me senseless something fierce." With that, he put his hands in his pockets, winked at Sylia, and began whistling a tune as he made his way towards the exit.  
  
Remembering something, Sylia called out to him from her doorway. "By the way, thank you for the wonderful earrings!"  
  
"Your welcome! Think nothing of it. The box is a tracking device." He turned, gave her that boyish grin of his, and continued on his way.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
::He doesn't seem to be a bad guy. I wonder how it is he's supposed to be so dangerous?::: Sylia pushed the question from her mind. Looks can be deceiving and she'd had plenty of experience with the kind of scum that could act the part of a charmer. Still, there was something about him that offset him from the everyday. :::Don't bother yourself with it right now. Sleep on it, that's the way. I'll call the girls and discuss the details tomorrow.:::  
  
With a yawn, Sylia was off to bed.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Well, didn't that go smoothly?" Ashley spoke to himself as he exited the Lady633 building. The cold night air greeted him.  
  
After walking a few blocks, Ashley was suddenly aware of someone following him. Chills of awareness ran down his spine as he surveyed the street and the connecting alleyways. He vaulted to a nearby roof, cracking pavement as he launched and flew through the air before hitting the hard surface of the building with an audible "crack!" Producing a pair of .454 magnums from his jacket in the blink of an eye, he cast his gaze downward towards the street below. For several moments nothing moved, and then something detached itself from the shadows directly below him.  
  
A large man stood staring directly at him over the barrel of an equally large automatic weapon. He wore a green suit, gadgets protruding in patterns from its material. He wore a black helmet and gazed at him through an all too familiar grisly yellow visor.  
  
Ashley had only seconds to voice the word "Shit!" before shell sprayed in his direction, catching the side of the building and working its way up towards him. The gun's retort echoed through the night, consistent in its machine gun sound. Pieces of the building flew every which way as Ashley jumped from his perch on the building to the man's position on the ground. Explosions rang in his ears as grenades flew at him from his attacker and struck the building.  
  
Bringing his pistols to bare on the assailant, Ashley fired a volley of shells. A sickening crunch could be heard as blood sprayed over the road, coating its surface like some type of vengeful paint. Hitting the ground, Ashley stood over the bullet-riddled body, triumphant.  
  
Ashley took a close look at the body. Although a bullet had torn the man's uniform, he could still see the word "BioCite" written across the soldier's chest. A beeping, soft and constant filled Ashley's senses and, just as quickly as it had begun, it stopped.  
  
Realization suddenly dawned on the seasoned veteran. He jumped backward just as the body exploded in a violence of fire. It sent him flying unwillingly across the street as it took out the front of an adjacent building. Debris clouded the night sky, as did the flames.  
  
Coughing violently, Ashley stood and decided to make a hasty retreat of the scene. He decided too late, though. Sirens blared and two police cruisers filed into the area, effectively spotting him and blocking his escape route.  
  
Four police officers poured from the cars, bringing guns out before anything else.  
  
:::That was quick.:::.  
  
One of them shouted. "Stay where you are!" Before pointing a mean looking gun in his direction. "Freeze, asshole!"  
  
Ashley stared back coldly, barely containing his laughter. "You write those lines yourself?" He burst into a fit of laughter. "Hold on, let me try...ahem `raise your hands to the sky you mangy varmint befar I make you dance on yer grave, ya yella' bellied muck sucker!'" He then became very serious. "I'm sorry. I saw that in a movie once."  
  
Yet another officer hopped out of one of the cars. Unlike the others, this officer was a petite woman and she had a peculiar mop of pink hair. She looked quite out of place standing amidst the brawny enforcers.  
  
She looked at Ashley and a look of surprise crossed her features before she regained her formal look of justice. "State your business before we take you in for disturbing the peace!"  
  
Ashley look mildly amused as he related his tale. "You see, officers, I was out minding my own business when this guy attacked me and then, funny enough, he exploded right in front of me, damn near burnt my best jacket!"  
  
"Then how do you explain those weapons you're carrying?"  
  
"Weapons?" Ashley glanced down to see that he was still holding his magnums, one in each hand, and was gripping them until his knuckles were white. "Oh, those weapons! They're...uh...oh, hell!" He broke mid-sentence in his excuse and hurled himself at the nearest building. He effectively burst through, showering metal everywhere, leaving an Ashley sized hole in the process. Gunfire rang in the night behind him as he made a quick getaway.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
:::That was him! That was the same guy from the other night!:::  
  
Nene reholstered her gun as her partners ran after the guy, making their way through his escape route.  
  
:::How did he do that? No human could do that. He must be a boomer, but he looks and acts so human.::: She knew, though, that that in itself was no excuse. Genom made a lot of model boomers that were indistinguishably human, to the point that she second guessed everyone's true identity.  
  
She yawned a deep yawn. Man, was she tired. Good thing she didn't have to work the late night shift. For now, sleep was all that was on her mind.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
:::Lost them.:::  
  
Ashley ran through streets void of life and pondered his next move. He had to lose the persistent little bastards. They were depriving him of sleep, and that was one thing he hadn't been able to get in a while. When your life's constantly being put on the line one finds little time for sleep.  
  
Ashley's chain of thought was shattered just as he was struck incredibly hard from behind. His entire body seemed to bend under the attacker's fist and he was sent sprawling to the ground several feet away, the wind knocked completely out of him.  
  
Struggling to get up, Ashley was met by a boot to the stomach. It sent pain through his whole upper body and pushed him several feet into the air. Before he could hit the ground, he was punched yet again, but in the head this time. Pushed to the brink of blacking out, he spun in the air while sailing, for the second time in several seconds, several feet before hitting the ground.  
  
:::Boomer.::: Ashley thought as he stood raggedly on his feet to get a look at his attacker. It was a woman with blond hair, standing before him in purple business attire and dark sun glasses, and her finger nails had grown to about a foot in length, revealing them to be blades of the sharpest kind. She smiled coldly at him in the early morning sunlight.  
  
"All right bitch! That was totally uncalled for!" Ashley had fought several boomers in the four years of his escape. BioCite, taking kindly to the designs put on the market by Genom, had developed several models of their own, but they could never seem to match Genom's caliber of machine. He was the result of their attempts of accessing other areas of marketable military technology. At the moment, he was quite ready to show BioCite's competitors that they weren't the only ones who could play with power, as much as he "disliked" the idea.  
  
Cracking his knuckles, Ashley blurred in the speed of his movement. Catching the boomer in the stomach with a fist, he sent it sailing through the air where it skidded across the pavement in several jumps. It got back up and came at him, claws glinting in morning sunshine.  
  
Steel claws raked his left arm, ripping open his flesh. Reaching out, Ashley grabbed the machine by the head. As it squirmed to break free, Ashley began to spin in circles, the boomer in tow. Increasing his speed, Ashley began a whirlwind motion and released the surprised assassin. It screeched during its flight until it connected with a building, crashing through it without slowing down.  
  
Rushing after the boomer, the battle's defender raced to see if the thing had been dealt with. Upon reaching where it lay amidst the building's rubble, Ashley paid no attention to the people running and screaming in every direction. Picking up what was left of the thing, he ripped its head from its shoulders. Circuitry fountained out like blood, still buzzing with activity. Glaring with the most horrid and frightening stare he could muster, he spoke coldly and with determination at the head. "Leave me the fuck alone! Leave me be or I shall see your body lined up here nicely next to your bitch of an abomination!" Without looking back to the destruction that lay strewn about, Ashley tossed the head aside and strode towards his apartment and some much needed sleep.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Leave me the fuck alone! Leave me be or I shall see your body lined up here nicely next to your bitch of an abomination!" A video screen played back what an assassin boomer had only moments before been subject to.  
  
"I knew it! I knew BioCite had fumbled and here is the result. I have the chance to get my hands on their new product. A product with incredible potential when put to the proper uses." Quincy, chairman of Genom Enterprises, looked at the video feed brought to his attention by an employee. "He's human, but amazingly strong. A human and he bested a boomer! Oh, this is too perfect. I must have it. I must have that technology!"  
  
Tapping on a communications console, Quincy barked out orders. "Prepare a squad of assault boomers. The target is a man by the name of Ashley Asakiri. I want him brought to me alive and at all costs!" He leaned back in his chair and stared out at the sky. "Jason, my worthy opponent, you have made a mistake. This mistake will be your downfall. I will find a way to crush you!"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Ashley bled all over the road as he walked down streets already alive with the daily lives of city denizens. Many people stopped to stare at him, but they were all too scared of him to offer their help and, so, they let him be. Pain surged through his body, almost as if it had a life of its own. There was nowhere he could go now. Genom had learned of his being here. They would be relentless in their desire to capture him. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't go to his apartment. That was the very place where they would first look for him.  
  
He needed a place to stay, a place safe from things much stronger than he had anticipated.  
  
:::You can go to Sylia. She'll understand.::: Oh, how he wanted to believe that! He was a Frankenstein's monster to her. He had to be. But, her knowledge of his situation made her an ally. Willingly or not, she was a friend.  
  
Ashley's vision was hazy when he reached Sylia's door. That and he felt as though the Red Cross had been out to take him as a permanent donor that day. He managed the strength to ring her doorbell before he passed out, propped up against the door and bleeding on the floor.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"One moment." Sylia laid down the phone, ending her conversation with the three girls. They would be here in a few minutes with some stories of their own to tell. "Coming."  
  
She reached for the door and it opened easily. Ashley slumped from the entrance and onto her porch floor. "Ashley!?"  
  
With a fair bit of effort, she dragged him into the house and dropped him on the couch. She knelt to inspect his wounds, for she could very well see that his blood was covering him. His jacket was sticking with it. She pulled the jacket from him, and had to work it free since it weighed a ton.  
  
"What! Is this some kind of joke?"  
  
Blood covered him, yet he had no wounds as far as she could see. This made her ask the question.  
  
:::Is it his blood, isn't it?:::  
  
Once she had gotten his shirt off for a closer look, she could see, however, that he was plastered with several large bruises. Suddenly, he stirred and sat up so quickly Sylia almost wasn't able to follow.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
"Ashley, it's me Sylia. What happened to you?"  
  
Ashley took a moment to look around and get his bearings. He stood, grabbing his ribs in pain and looked at her. "Genuine concern? For me? I'm flattered, really."  
  
She reddened at this. "I was just..." She caught herself. :::Why was she helping him? She owed him nothing. For all she knew he could be the enemy. There was simply something about him, like she knew him somehow.:::  
  
"You were just what?"  
  
"I was just doing what any other concerned citizen would do."  
  
"They didn't seem that concerned to me since they preferred watching me bleed to death." He began putting his clothes back on.  
  
"What are you doing? Let me look at your wounds." She motioned for him to sit back down.  
  
"That's alright. I'll be fine. It's just one of the things I often have to put up with." He ran his hands over his body, inspecting the damage. Damage? There was none. The bruises had vanished!  
  
"How did you...how did-?" Sylia stuttered in surprise.  
  
"It's all part of the physiological impact the technology has on my body. Given time, I'll heal. You don't need to waste your worry on me." Having put his coat back on, he breathed a sigh as he slumped back onto the couch. "I came because I need a place to stay. Genom knows that I'm here. They sent one of their assassins to...what? Test me? I don't know. All I know is that it attacked me and I made sure that it wouldn't again."  
  
"You defeated a boomer in combat?"  
  
"Yeah, why do you find it so hard to believe?"  
  
"I find it hard to believe that you're a boomer. You seem so real."  
  
He sighed in contempt. "Let me make this clear. I'm human. I'm a person like any other Tom, Dick, or Harry. I think that-" He spun around in midsentence, bringing a gun up to aim at the doorway. Linna, Nene, and Priss stood there in stark shock.  
  
Ashley lowered his magnum. "Oh...friends of yours, Sylia?"  
  
*End Chapter Two* 


	3. Chapter Three: Pain, My Unwanted Bedfell...

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo: 2033  
  
A BGC Fanfiction: Urban Discord  
  
by Daniel Power  
  
Chapter Three: Pain, My Unwanted Bedfellow  
  
(MegaTokyo: 2033)  
  
Ashley reholstered his magnum and turned to Sylia then, seeking an answer to his question. "Well, are they?"  
  
Sylia smiled and motioned for her three visitors to come in and have a seat. "They most certainly are."  
  
"Ah, I see, friends are a good thing to have." He took his time to inspect the three ladies that had come to visit with Sylia. He assumed that these three were her "associates". Two of them were very familiar. One was the pink- haired cop that had tried to arrest him and another was his racing partner from one of his botched attempts at having a good time. The third girl was one he had yet to have the pleasure of meeting.  
  
Slyia broke the silence in the room. "Well mister Asakiri, let me introduce you to Priss..." A brown- haired girl in biker leathers stood.  
  
Ashley nodded. "We've met."  
  
"...Nene." The pink- haired girl in the police uniform stood and bowed while looking at him coldly.  
  
Ashley nodded once again and smiled openly. "We've also met."  
  
"...and Linna." A black- haired girl in a green business suit stood and bowed solemnly. Ashley returned the bow modestly. "...who I've yet to meet." He smiled devilishly and winked at Linna, who still stood, her eyes downcast.  
  
Ashley made an attempt at playing the cassanova. Bowing once again, he said, "Good evening, my dear. Pardon my rudeness for having aimed a weapon at you."  
  
"Oh, please." Priss said in annoyance. "To think that you would have anything remotely resembling charm."  
  
"Think? One does not have to think where a little charm is concerned. It comes naturally and either you have it or you don't. I guess it's one of the few things I don't have." Having said this, he sat down on a couch, waiting for Sylia to say or do whatever it was she had planned.  
  
Sylia coughed to break through the nervous tension that filled the room. "Okay. Mr. Ashley Asakiri is our new client. We're to protect him from being taken by the Genom corporation. The meeting to discuss this is to be held here now, since there has been a change in Mr. Asakiri's plans."  
  
Each girl gave Sylia an open wide-eyed stare as they realized who, and what, Sylia was referring to them as. No one was supposed to know the identity of the Knight Sabers, clients especially. Sylia at once gave them a glare that brought their open shock to a standstill.  
  
"We can feel safe to give Mr. Asakiri knowledge of our true identities." She sighed. "Besides, he figured it out on his own anyway."  
  
"Poor us." Priss added.  
  
Ashley continued where Sylia had left off. "I'm being hunted by a company called BioCite which is based in Canada. While I'm fighting them off I need the three of you to stave off any heat that I might take from Genom."  
  
"Why is it they're after you?" Nene asked systematically.  
  
Ashley turned to Nene, not sure of whether he should answer the question. Having made up his mind, he complied. "I'm the sole possessor of a technology that BioCite is trying to either destroy or retrieve and Genom would do anything to get their hands on."  
  
"Oh, and you most likely stole it." Priss added without remorse.  
  
A hurt look passed across Ashley's features. "Stole it? You're not giving credit where it's due. That credit belongs to BioCite. They stole my life! They snatched me from my home and did experiments on me, effectively implanting a technology in me that I want nothing to do with at all. All I want is to get back to my wife and two daughters." Ashley put his head in his hands as if he were reliving a lifetime of painful moments in surgery.  
  
He then raised a finger at Priss. "Word to the wise, miss personality, make fewer accusations of this employer."  
  
Priss looked both shocked and ashamed at the same time, while the other girls could do nothing but sympathize for the man.  
  
Assuming the role of the police officer once again, Nene spoke up. "Just because your life has been tampered with doesn't give you the right to go around blowing things up and putting this city's citizens in danger!"  
  
"You misunderstand." said Ashley. "I've been attacked by both companies now. I was just defending myself."  
  
Linna, who had remained quiet until now, assessing the situation, spoke up. "Mister Asakiri, if you don't mind, could you tell us what this technology is supposed to do...please?"  
  
Ashley looked at her sypathetically since the only answer he could give was "no." "Sorry miss. No can do. I would if I could, but I can't, so I won't. A large part of it should be obvious from now on, though. Well, it's been nice chat-"  
  
"-Shh." Priss cut him off midsentence. "What's that noise?" A low thrumming filled everyone's ears then, getting louder as it seemed to get closer.  
  
Glass shattered as shell sprayed into the room, splitting and ripping apart belongings and furniture. A tiltritor helicopter swung back and forth just outside the limits of the suite, sitting in plain view where the windows once were.  
  
"Everybody down!" Ashley shoved two of the women to the floor, but the others had gotten the idea on instinct and were running from danger.  
  
Several shells from the helicopter's twin chain cannons cut into Ashley's flesh. One in the shoulder, another in the leg, and one in the stomach. Ashley was knocked back and flipped head over heels by the impact of the shells. His blood, equally in dissaray, sprayed over the carpet and the surrounding furniture. He hit the ground with a sickening "thud!".  
  
"Target has been dealt with. Send in the recovery team to get him." The pilot of the helicopter spoke into his headset with obvious satisfaction. This satisfaction was short lived as Ashley stood up from the blood soaked carpet and glared at him from behind eyes and face stained with red.  
  
The pilot froze. Of course he knew what the guy was capable of, but this was too much! He was told by higher powers that he'd have more time to make his escape before the containment team came. Several minutes he was told, not mere seconds! He swerved the helicopter into an ascent without thinking twice.  
  
Ashley was only vaguely aware of people shouting out to him from somewhere near.  
  
Like a beast after its hapless prey, Ashley watched the vehicle climb. Then he shot forward with tremendous speed and hurled himself out of the window and towards the helicopter. He jumped the full forty feet to the copter and grabbed its landing gear. Bringing his fist up through the underbelly of the flying machine, Ashley wrapped a fist around the pilot's ankle and pulled...hard. Creaking and cracking metal could be heard as he pulled the pilot clean through the bottom of the helicopter, and not in such good condition either as metal is slightly harder than human flesh.  
  
Ashley hurled what was left of the man into the air where it fell to its resting place. "Son of a bitch!" He called after the quickly falling corpse.  
  
Using his arms as a leverage, Ashley began to swing until he gained enough momentum to reach the building. Hurling himself away from the helicopter, he smashed through a set of windows and shot to his feet. The room tenants screamed and ran through the front door or their home as the tiltrotor fireballed into the side of the building, setting waves of destruction loose starting at its point of impact.  
  
Running after them through the door to be free of the confines of the room, Ashley made his way to the front entrance of the building.  
  
:::Elevator's bound to be guarded.:::  
  
After travelling down several floors, he was greeted by the familiar sounds of alarms and sirens ringing in warm recognition of his being there.  
  
Two combat boomers, their metallic exteriors shining in the glare of emergency lighting, smashed cleanly through a wall near Ashley. Before he could react, another came from the floor beneath him, effectively grasping his ankle with inhuman strength and pulling him down through the floor. Flinging him with minimal effort, the boomer let Ashley fly from its grip. Ashley swore as he began to smash through set after set of stairs. His fall was then broken by the floor, and all too painfully at that.  
  
Ashley lay on the floor of the building, feeling none too good considering most of his bones were probably broken. He waited in moment after moment of silence as his body began to heal itself, his bones knitting and flesh repairing itself while the boomers sailed towards him to finish whatever job it was they were here to do. He didn't give them the chance as he struggled to stand. Regaining his composure, he ran out of the building through a side entrance, only seconds before the combat boomers reached the ground floor.  
  
Outside with guns aimed and at the ready, the AD Police waited for their target. They unleashed a volley of fire at Ashley as he exited the building. Ashley caught a blast of gunfire in the chest and glared at the officers, annoyed and in pain.  
  
"Not me you cock-eyed excuses for dictators of the law! Them, not me, them!" Ashley motioned towards the door where the three combat boomers had rushed out meet a volley of gunfire themselves. Ashley gave a thumbs up to the nearest man in blue. "Nice job! Bad shooting, but nice job nonetheless." He gave the confused officer a hearty slap on the shoulder and was off, the boomers and police gunfire in hot pursuit.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Ashley's breathing was severly laboured as he rounded another corner. The boomers, who didn't bother to use the sidewalk as Ashley had done, careened through obstacle after obstacle which, as it turned out, weren't much of obstacles after all.  
  
One of them finally caught up to him due to his being winded. It grabbed him by the hair and gave him a much unappreciated punch in the back. Ashley felt his spine bend under the onslaught of the fist. He sprang forward most unwillingly and got acquainted with the side of a nearby building, also most unwillingly. Ashley stood back up and hobbled away from his pursuers. "That's going to leave a bruise. No black and blue bruises for this cowboy, only uncomparable pain."  
  
Walking off his injury, Ashley turned to confront his most recent attacker. He didn't get the chance to assault the target as help had already arrived, and in his benefit. The Knight Sabers, in all their self-proclaimed combat glory, landed silently next to him as he stopped his charge on the closest boomer.  
  
"That was fast." Ashley turned to one as they began the defense of their client in earnest. "I haven't even paid you yet."  
  
The green hard suit turned at his words. "We usually don't accept payment until after the job is done."  
  
Ashley mumbled under his breath as he left the scene of the fight, the sound of energy hitting what would eventually be scrap metal as he walked farther away. "I'd like to know how you're going to get payment if I'm accidentally killed, but who am I to complain about not paying? Certainly relieved, that's for sure, seeing as I don't have the money promised...yet."  
  
Chill winds swept in waves across the late nights streets that Ashley followed on his way home. He had just recently drawn the conclusion that, since Genom had attacked him while at the Lady633 building, they probably didn't know where he lived yet. He hoped that this was the case as he fumbled in his coat for an apartment key. He opened the door to his hastily acquired, ramshackle, pig stye of a house to the sound of his radio blaring. He relaxed visibly, loud music was a normal thing and not at all painful either, as opposed to Genom combat boomers. It was a pleasurable change in setting.  
  
Twenty minutes later and Ashley was seated comfortably in his leather reclinable chair, eating a hastily prepared supper. His apartment was moderately furnished, tacky, but comfortable nonetheless. Wallpaper was peeling off in places along one wall in the large room that served as his bedroom, living room, and kitchen. The dining area was dispersed throughout his house since he ate pretty much where he pleased. A bathroom sat opposite the front door and electronics of various levels of technology littered the small, cluttered apartment. Opened manuals and informative texts, in different states of disorder, lay around the room along with the occasional chocolate bar wrapper.  
  
So, as it was, Ashley sat watching TV contentedly on his very large satellite Televiewer. He watched the news with mild interest upon seeing himself battling fierce blue tin cans that passed for evil. He had to give the combat model boomers credit though, for they were a complete pain in the ass.  
  
Ashley then stood while he watched the news, answering the door as its bell rang repeatedly.  
  
When he opened the door he was greeted by his own reflection in the mirrored sunglasses of one, Leon McNicole.  
  
:::Damn.::: It had urked him to the extreme that he had to give his address to the AD Police when applying for a bounty hunter license.  
  
Rather than seem annoyed, Ashley placed a far from happy, but unmenacing grin on his face and asked a question minus the pleasantries. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Hiya Ashley." Leon flashed his badge out of habit and levelled a gaze at his newly acquired suspect. "May I come in?"  
  
"Uh...sure, but give me a moment, will you?" Ashley slammed the door and raced around his apartment putting away anything that might bring suspicion to his doorstep. Snatching a shotgun off the kitchen counter, he stowed it away in a cupboard while grabbing several stacked data disks labelled "Security level 4 Info." and threw them under his couch.  
  
Running back to the door, he opened to invite his guest in. "Alright, come on in."  
  
Leon looked at him suspiciously, but then shrugged it off and walked in. He said nothing of the mess he encountered, or of the high technology parafanalia that was littered about. Ashley offered him a seat on the couch which he graciously accepted.  
  
Ashley looked at Leon from his standing postion. "I'd offer you a drink, but I have nothing to offer you. I don't have much of anything at the moment."  
  
"What you do have, though, is a lot of attention." Leon spoke while turning an intricate looking machine over in his hands. "This is a voice encrypter! Don't see many of these around."  
  
"Um, actually I modified it. Now it analyzes and copies voice patterns." Ashley spoke mater-of-factly.  
  
"Oh, anyway I'd like to know what you've been up to tonight. I just saw you on the news being chased by three BU-55C combat boomers. Care to explain that?"  
  
"Uh, I owe Genom money?"  
  
"Okay, well if you don't have an answer to that right now how about you tell me why you've made the top ten most wanted list and have the biggest bounty on your head I've ever heard tell of?"  
  
"Yeah, I only just recently found out about that myself. I can't quite explain that."  
  
"Seems to me that there's a lot that you `can't quite explain'."  
  
"Honestly, I don't know why I have a bounty on my head." Of course he knew why, but he wasn't going to lay his case down in front of a police officer of all people. He wondered if Leon overruled his duty as an officer at all in any situation. Still, he didn't want to trust his secret to anyone else right now.  
  
A blow to the front door sent it flying off its hinges and into the far wall. Ashley, in a blink of feral instinct, brought his twin magnums up to take in the target. A female assassin boomer stood in the door, its fingernails extending into blades.  
  
Leon pulled his Kruger Magnum free and leapt from the couch to stand beside Ashley. The boomer stood, assessing its opponents, and feigned to the left. At its sudden movement, Ashley let his shell fly. Bullets flew past the thing while others caught it in the torso, sending it back out the door and into the dimly lit street.  
  
"Jesus! Not another One!" Ashley dashed out the door after it, rolling into a crouch after hitting the bottom of the doorway stairs.  
  
Leon simply stood where the boomer had been. :::Holy shit, but he's fast! I couldn't even follow!:::  
  
Ashley rained shell upon the intruder, bring it to its knees and its destruction. Parts spilled onto the black street and the thing `bled'.  
  
"Dammit! My door!" Ashley said in defeat.  
  
Four forms hit the ground in front of Ashley to stand before him. Ashley turned and spoke to them before fulling seeing them. "I was wondering when you guys were going to finish up." Getting no anwer, he looked closer at the newcomers in the night.  
  
These were not the people he was expecting. In actuality, they weren't people at all. Four more female assassin boomers stood, guns at the ready, pointing them at Ashley.  
  
:::Genom must be serious this time.::: This was one fight he wasn't going to win.  
  
Leon stood trying to get his mind past what was happening. :::What would Genom want with Ashley. It's obvious they're after him for something.::: "Um, Ashley. What exactly is going on?"  
  
The question was left unanswered. A volley of gunfire reached Ashley in an angry wave, casting him into blackness there was so much pain and gunfire. Strangely, just when he thought he was dead, he had the odd sensation of being lifted and carried. He heard a muffled shout from nearby who he guessed was an irrate Leon.  
  
:::The better question...::: Ashley pondered in his pit of blackness. :::...is, what am I going to do now?:::  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Ashley woke to the sounds of a humming and beeping veritable jungle of machinery. Things blinked and buzzed in accordance with others while he stood, pinned quite well to a veriticle metal slate with metal cuffs on both his wrists and ankles that were effectively unbreakable by him at the moment. He struggled in vain to pull himself free from the wall.  
  
A tall man man in a long, white lab coat who was working at one of the many consoles scattered about the room, noticed this sudden movement, and turned to Ashley.  
  
He tapped a colleague on the shoulder to his attention. "Amazing! The drug has been neutralized by his system in record time!"  
  
The other man, who was considerably shorter than the first, simply nodded and flipped a few switches to his right. A faint blue light poured forth from the ceiling, eveloping Ashley. "Not quite, there's till another thirteen percent to go."  
  
Ashley guessed they were talking about the dreamless sleep he had just woken up from. It had been induced with drugs and he had just regained conciousness.  
  
Other than this faint realization, Ashley's mind was in complete turmoil. :::Not another lab! No more experiments, I couldn't endure it! No more, no more!:::  
  
"Hmm, brain activity is through the roof." The technician had an amused look on his face. He looked from a computer monitor to Ashley's naked, hanging form."He's scared."  
  
The shorter technician seemed indifferent to this and shrugged noncommittedly. "Afraid, angry, even happy...it makes no difference once we get BioCite's latest implants out of him."  
  
"Yes, but before we do that we'll need to test the limits of the technology". The taller man pressed several buttons on a keyboard in sequence and several mechanical arms containing bladed instruments descended out of the ceiling. "For example, pain threshold..."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sylia stared over the rim of her coffee cup at nothing, though the daily goings on of MegaTokyo could be clearly seen through the cafe window she was looking through.  
  
:::Where is he?::: After finishing their fight with the combat boomers that had been trailing Ashley a night two days ago, neither member of the group called the Knight Sabers could find any trace of their client. It was as if he simply disappeared. Sylia had known the strange man only a few days and she thought, at first, that maybe he didn't want to be found. Given what she had seen him do, she didn't doubt that he could bring himself to perform a disappearing act. Normally, this would be the case, but something ate at her persistant belief that Ashley was okay and content. Still, something didn't seem right. Ashley had come to her at the first sign of trouble. It should still hold true that he would again.  
  
:::Maybe he doesn't need my help?::: No, that wasn't right either. Sylia didn't pretend to know everything about the man after only just meeting him, but she knew one thing. He would come to her without delay. She had called the other girls earlier and neither of them had seen him either. Something was definitely wrong.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Ashley's tormentor stood triumphantly over a rather large container that held Ashley's blood, and that was quite a sight considering that it was all of the man's blood. It had been discovered that Ashley's implants weren't the type that they had anticipated. Tiny nanites, microscopic sized machines, were found to fill the lab escapee's blood. These nano-machines could manipulate bodily tissue in innumerable ways. They could increase the biomass of someone without increasing their size. They could heighten the muscular density of a subject with amazing ability. They could make a person receptive to pain at such a high level that fighting things much stronger would pose no problem. The small machines could, to the delight of the two victorious scientists, regenerate human flesh and material. The only drawback to this was that the subject's bodily fluids were consumed by the nanite fairly quickly. This meant that the body's amount of water had to be replaced constantly. Still,  
this was a biological weapon worthy of the highest form of admiration and respect.  
  
As for Ashley, a complete blood transfusion had been done on him. Ashley's body had been sucked dry of its liquids and was then pumped with new ones, identical except for the coveted nanites. Ashley still didn't understand why he'd been left alive.  
  
Emotions of many kinds floated around the laboratory that was Ashley's hell for several days. The victim, now fully clothed and strapped to an office chair, felt completely drained as he stared on in defeat at the many technicians who celebrated their victory over their enemy, the dreaded BioCite.  
  
Ashley fully realized his situation. He was nothing but a pawn. He was a piece to be placed, a toy to be traded and played with. He had successfully turned the tables on a world power by being caught. His abomination of a transplant was a means to an end for one side of the war over a future that was unclear. Ashley's misery meant nothing to those in power.  
  
He looked at his current situation as having two heads, one horrifying and the other pleasant. He was human once more and was no longer the thing that BioCite had turned him into. On the other side of things, he could no longer defend himself as well against BioCite who would still be relentless in their pursuit of killing him. To them, he was still a threat and he could tell them no different without giving them what they wanted, his life.  
  
At least....at least he would be able to experience humanity for a moment before being killed. He was steadily sure that they were still going to kill him. Quietly, one of the technicians separated from the celebrating group to greet a man in a wine colored buisiness suit with slicked back, black hair.  
  
The technician greeted him with a handshake and a smile. "Mr. Mason, everything went perfectly. We can put it to use for Genom in a matter of days! You won't believe what we found...it was, amazing to say the least..." The technician continued to talk away, unaware that Mr. Mason, the company's second hand man, was paying no attention. His attention was entirely focused on the ragged looking man in black across the room. He was strapped tightly to a chair, being unable to do much about it without the nano-technology and in his weakened state.  
  
Brian J. Mason strode quietly over to the text subject. Mason knew that Ashley had been the test subject of project Sync, a high profile top secret stage of testing within the boundaries of BioCite. He knew this and many more things about BioCite, having many informants within their ranks.  
  
Now, as Mason stared at Ashley and as Ashley's gaze rose to meet his, he saw a soul in need of restructure and with that he saw possibilities, many of them.  
  
"Mr. Asakiri, I presume?" Mason maintained a calm, cold, and detached sounding voice. He wore these vocal qualities like badges of honor since they marked him as the businessman that he was.  
  
Ashley lowered his gaze back to the floor. "I have nothing to say to you."  
  
"That makes my job easier actually, since I have much to say to you." Mason pulled up a comfortable enough looking office chair and sat down.  
  
Ashley continued to stare at the floor.  
  
"You hate them don't you?" Ashley looked up at the man as he said those words. Ashley thought that he could see something in his eyes that could almost pass for sympathy. Immediately realizing that the man in the wine colored business suit was setting him up so that he could play him like a fool, Ashley left the question unanswered.  
  
"By "they" I mean BioCite." The man continued.  
  
Still getting no response, the man moved on to the point of his introduction and this one sided conversation. "I'm going to put it to you straight, Mr. Asakiri. I have a proposition for you. One that involves getting sweet revenge on those who have pained you for so long."  
  
The curiosity of the restrained man was peaked, though he felt bad for it being so. :::The last thing I want to be is obvious to read.::: Ashley pondered how he should react to the man's next words, however promising they were.  
  
"I'm proposing that Genom hire you on as an infiltrator, someone to break through BioCite's defenses so that our competition can be hampered by things that take them away from development. I'm talking about sabotage. I'm talking about having your desire for revenge satiated again and again and again..." Having said that the man leaned back in his chair. "You'll be fully supplied with weaponry, provisions, and accomodations by Genom, of course."  
  
He had tried to hide his feelings, but now surprise and a lust for something bordering on chaotic revenge shone in Ashley's eyes. "Having a chance to ruin those who ruined my life. Very tempting." Making his mind up to comply with the offer, Ashley let the ropes that had been "holding" him fall to the floor from his body. Stretching, he stood and looked down at the surprised business man. "I'm your man...mister?"  
  
Mason stood and the both of them shook hands with Mr. Mason looking up at the towering Ashley. "Mason, Brian Mason."  
  
:::Brian Mason.::: He would remember that name, but not for the same reasons the business man was hoping.  
  
Ashley strode towards the door, but stopped midstride and turned back around, needing to confirm something. "Mr. Mason, you're the boss around here, aren't you?"  
  
"Yes." Came the response. This wasn't entirely true, but Mason prided himself on his power. At the time, however, he didn't quite realize what he was condemning himself to.  
  
"Alright. I'll have a list of what I'm going to need dropped off tomorrow morning. Give me a day or so to get things in order." :::The man in black walked out the door in a rush. I'll be back for you and your fucking scientists!:::  
  
Leaving the large building, which, as Ashley looked around, turned out to be a warehouse in the Timex City District. After walking for awhile, Ashley took a seat on the side of the sidewalk to collect his rampaging thoughts. :::I don't think Genom knows quite what they've done. They've unpackaged and armed a time bomb.::: The hell that Ashley had experienced for the past four years had given birth to something monstrous. This hell had concieved a hatred so deep and complete that it was empty save for a nothingness that swallowed all light. His soul screamed at him to deal back the injustice a hundred fold. :::I will do as Genom asks, and gratefully too. I will still visit hell upon both companies. They will share my hell as I shove them head first into it.:::  
  
Suddenly filled to the brim with ample purpose, Ashley, hands in pockets, whistled a happy tune and continued on down the street, the night enveloping him like a second skin.  
  
He would not back down and allow Genom to control his anger's direction. He would be the downfall of both companies and only then would he be satisfied enough to return home to his family.  
  
*End Chapter Three* 


End file.
